The Lady and The Beggar
by BBMe123
Summary: Duncan spent 11 years of his life on the street with other homeless kids in some made-up old-timey England place. Courtney was pampered all her life. After Duncan is adopted and meets Courtney five years later, will sparks fly... or will they die out? (CourtneyXDuncan)
1. Chapter 1: Intro

**Why am I starting a new story even though I have two stories and I'm leaving again in a week? I don't know. I'll figure it out. **

**Third Person's P.O.V.**

Picture this: Some old town with fancy-dressed ladies and fancy-dressed men, all sweating their butts off because they're wearing three thousand layers. Also, these fancy people are driven around in fancy horse-drawn carriages because no one can get off their sweaty butts and invent a car. The streets are stone with tall houses made from the same material. The building are close together besides the various alleys where abandoned children and poor homeless people gather what they can to live through out the day. Wait, scratch the sweaty part- It's daytime, but it's dark with storm clouds spinning around their heads. All the woman just so happen to have umbrellas the same colors as their giant puffy dresses. Have you pictured it? Well, guess what? That's our setting.

So, now we're going into one of these rat-infested alleys where a group of homeless boys, about 11 years old, stand around talking to each other. The dirt on their bodies are plain to see, their hair are all shaggy and a mess, and snot runs from their noses.

"Oi!" Says one boy, because apparently now this England or something. "Owen! Don't eat all the food!"

A chubby little boy with brown hair, that most likely was once a bright blonde, turns to the other boy, trying to hide the bread he stole from their small pile of essentials. "But I'm hungry!" He complained, as a boy this young would.

The other boy, who seemed to slightly stand out from the rest, frowned at him with his arms crossed.. His hair was black and almost down to his shoulders. Bright blue eyes shone from under the grime on his face. The boy looked beaten and bruised, and if you were part of this small group of boys you would know because he was the most mischievous of the bunch. Often getting hit by people for stealing, or trying to at least.

"Too bad. I'm hungry too, but you don't see me stuffing it up my face." The boy leaned into the other.

"Chill!" Ran in another boy. His face was bright and happy despite the large red mark on his forehead. A ratty hat sat on his head. If you asked the boys you would know it was his prized possession because it was what cowboys wore. "Just let him have a little. We'll survive I'm sure. You're good at finding food." He told the other blue-eyed boy.

The seemingly leader of the group rolled his eyes and turned to the last boy of their 4-person group. This boy had shaggy hair, as did the rest of them, but he was the only _actual _brunette. The boy had a chip in his tooth and also had blue eyes, like the leader and the boy with the cowboy hat. (Owen had very dark eyes, almost black.)

"Cody!" He barked. The boy jolted from his light nap, leaning against a trash can. "Come on, we have to go before the baker finds us here. "

The little boy, who was a year younger than the rest of them, nodded and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, he stopped and his eyes opened wide. "Run!" The boys heard before he even said anything.

The leader, had not been paying attention and the boy with the cowboy hat, Geoff was his name if you were wondering, and Owen flew past him, accidentally knocking the boy on the ground.

Looking up, he saw a woman somewhere in her young twenties with coal black eyes and long hair to match. She wore the same dress style as every other women you saw walking down the street. Her top was a dark red and the skirt was black. Hanging on her arm was a black umbrella. On top of her head was a large feathered red hat.

The women narrowed her eyes at him. "Little boy." She said with unneeded harshness. "Where are your parents?"

Suddenly becoming shy- No, not shy, but not wanting to give out anything said quietly (And with terrible grammar I must add), "Don't got none."

The women stood straight, her eyes still narrowed. Slowly, her expression softened and held out her gloved hand. "Come. I'll take you to my home where we will find you a suitable place to sleep and eat tonight."

The boy stared at the hand, afraid of it. Hands had never been kind to him. For as long as he could remember they had only slapped him or threatened him.

Slowly the boy held out his hand and held on to hers. The woman helped him up and walked with him down the street. "My name is Heather. What is yours?"

The boy paused, suddenly stopping Heather and himself. No one had really ever called him anything. Duncan had always been without a family. Geoff had joined him a few years back and Owen and Cody had joined them about a year ago, already having names from past families. Every now and then, they would really just call him boss because... well, he was the boss.

The boy pushed his hair out of his face and looked up at kind lady. "Don't have one."

Heather looked surprised. "You don't have one?" They started walking again. "Well, then let's call you... Duncan!"

"Duncan?" The boy wrinkled his nose at the name.

The woman sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's a popular name and I think the name suits you just fine."

The-boy-now-named-Duncan nodded his head slowly. "OK. Duncan."

Heather smiled down at the boy.

* * *

**Five Years Later**

Duncan rested his head against the wall, so tired of being punished, listening to his mother, Lady Heather, complain about him to her fiance. Spaniards had come to their land, and his mother had been very fond of one who had taken shelter in their house two years ago.

"I just don't get it. Five years I've raised him, he's 16 now, and he still gets into mischief! Bothering the baker and- and more for no reason! As if he's still poor! It's like he wants to get in trouble. Some times I seriously regret taking him in..." He heard his mother sigh and knew she had run her fingers through her hair like she always did when she was distressed.

"Shh. Mi amor, do not get so worried. The boy will come to his senses. Perhaps he just needs friends to show him. You do know he still- um, the word... hangs out...? with the beggar boys, right?" Alejandro replied. His English was still not the best.

However, the suggestion turned Duncan's life upside-down. Before we get to the next chapter, let me just sum it up for you: Stuck-up snobs, fancy parties- no balls, and a girl who wants nothing to do with this past beggar.

* * *

**Does anyone like it? Is it too unoriginal? I know there are a lot of Duncan and Courtney stories in different times, but, I don't know, I thought of it and got really excited and just thought to share it with you guys. So, I got the idea from remembering a commercial about The Box Trolls. It's not based on that at all, I don't know what The Box Trolls are about. I've never seen it, I just saw the commercial and I remembered it and came up with this idea. Originally this was going to be a Zoey and Mike story, but decided against it because it would be harder to work in his personalities in a time like this (Plus I already have that other story and why not mix it up?). Also, was using Heather a good idea? Her personality comes into play better in next chapters (I know she sounds really nice in this one.) I thought of using Gwen as his mom, but decided against this also just because I thought she would be better to put in some _drama_ (Badum-toosh) in later chapters. Hey, look at me, droning on and on about pointless stuff again! If you don't read any of my other stories, you don't have to keep reading.**

**Behind The Door/It's sequel: I have the first two chapters done I just need to copy and paste and post it sometime soon.**

**Couples and Songs or Whatever I call it: Have not written anything, will spend two hours tomorrow to write two chapters. But then, I think I'll start doing only one a day unless I have time or if I'm in the mood.**

**Thank you for reading! Please review the good stuff and bad stuff! I love you all!**


	2. Chapter 2: Friends

**(That really long part full of italics is a flash back a few weeks after Heather takes him in. Also, Genoas are Jeans.)**

**Duncan's P.O.V.**

"Duncan!" I heard her finally call me into the room.

Groaning, I got up from the seat and turned into the room, leaning on the door frame, my arms crossed. "Yes?"

Her eyes widened seeing my newest addition to my body. Along with already having piercings, I had decided to change up my hair a little bit, and it cost quite a bit of money to get it like this. Who says I act like I'm still poor?

"Why is your hair green?" She shouted, throwing her hands in the air. "And... what kind of hairstyle is that?"

I looked up, as though I could see my creation. "I call it a Mohawk." I ran my fingers across the hair. Unfortunately, It was pretty short because I couldn't find anything to keep the hair sticking up straight. Geoff helped me cut it, but I bought the dye.

Heather shrieked. "Why don't you just follow rules?"

I made a half cough-half laugh. "Why don't I follow rules? Look who raised me! Going without a husband most of your life then deciding to marry a- a fugitive?" I gestured to Alejandro, who looked just as angry as Heather.

She was silent. After a few moments she said, "Tomorrow you are going to change. You will follow rules and act like a gentleman. You will not ruin your body with holes and dye. I am going to find you suitable friends, and you will not be around those homeless boys. You are 16. You need to start behaving like boys your age do."

I knew after she had finished that meant it was time for me to leave.

I groaned and left to go upstairs to my room. I shut the door behind me and put a chair up to the door knob to prevent anyone from coming in while I was gone. I turned to the window and opened it. I stood on a ledge as I shut the window behind me. Slowly, I turned around and looked down at the drop. I was on the third floor. It wasn't too much of a dangerous drop, but I liked to careful.

I snorted at the thought and jumped... onto the neighboring buildings roof. The buildings normally were close enough for me to just jump between them. No one really noticed me, luckily.

Finally, getting to my destination- which was on top of a dark gray roof, as all of them looked. I looked down into the alley, finally spotting a fat dirty blonde.

_"Boss! Where've you been?" Shouted Owen, hiding something behind the dumpster. I didn't care at the moment, it had taken me, already, about two weeks to be allowed to run around town. _

_"Places." I told him. "Where's Geoff and Cody?" _

_"Lookin' for food." He said, rubbing a red hand, obviously from trying to snatch something. _

_"Hmm." I narrowed my eyes, suddenly taking interest in what he was hiding. "What-" _

_"Hey, Owen! Why am I hiding back here again?" Asked a voice from behind him. A red-headed girl poked her head out from behind the dumpster, settling her head on Owen's shoulder. A moment later she sunk her teeth into it too, but Owen didn't seem to notice._

_"Izzeeeee." He groaned. _

_I froze. "Who is she? Girls aren't allowed to be near our stuff." _

_"Uh, this is Isabella- uh, but I call her Izzy. I met her a few days after you disappeared. She doesn't have a home either. Geoff and Cody are OK with her visiting every now and then." Owen explained. _

_About to protest, I stopped myself. I shrugged. "Whatever. I... do have a home now. You guys will have to take care yourself." _

_"Owen!" Shouted Geoff from behind us. "I see Izzy's here again and... you're back?" His face brightened even more than before. _

_"Yeah... I was- uh- adopted." I told him, rubbing my arm. "My name's Duncan now."_

_"So you're leaving us?" Cody spoke up. I noticed him standing in Geoff's shadow. _

_"You can't leave us, we need you!" Geoff said. "It was hard enough going- what a month or somethin'? Without you... Duncan." _

_"It's been two weeks." I told him. "And, you know I can't leave you guys forever. I'll come back when I get the chance and help you guys get into trouble." A grin spread no their faces... except Izzy, who looked bored and was hanging upside down on a bar connected to the building next to us. _

Now, five years later, they- no, we- were still altogether. Izzy didn't join their group, but she certainly did visit Owen quite a bunch, which caused me and, occasionally, Geoff to tease him. Izzy had, apparently, taken in a couple of girls like we had. I think their names were Sarah- no Sierra and Katie.

I shook my head and looked back down at Owen who seemed to be chatting with Izzy again. I dropped down to a balcony underneath me and grabbed a flower pot. I weighed it in my hand before throwing it in between them, almost hitting Izzy's head, as if it would have actually done any damage to her brain.

Izzy didn't flinch, instead somehow jumping off the walls to get to the balcony I was on and punching me off. "Hee-yah!" She cried out, a triumphant smile on her face. I fell off the balcony and landed painfully on my back.

"Hey, Duncan!" Owen's face appeared into my view. His hair was longer than normal, he must be cutting it soon, and he wore his normal dirty green pants with a brownish-white t-shirt. "Guess what? The baker says he'll give me a job if I can clean up a bit."

The baker had always been fond of Owen more than the other boys, mostly because he appreciated the man's cooking more than the others, even if he did steal from time to time. I replied to him with a groan as I sat up.

"Oops!" Izzy dropped down. The girl has her hair in a crazy mess spiraling down to the middle of her back. Instead of wearing old clothes or stealing some, the girl preferred to make her own from scraps of cloth or leaves. "Sorry, Duncan."

"Yeah, whatever." I rubbed my head before standing up. "Where's Geoff and Cody?"

"Cody-" Owen began before the boy himself walked down to where we were.

"Hey, guys!" Cody lifted his hand and waved. Cody had once been a very shy boy, but had slowly come out of his shell and had just started walking around town by himself. Perhaps it was Sierra, who had bothered him enough for him to go out by himself to get away from her, who had stopped him from being so shy. Sierra was a girl who had stuck around with Izzy about three years ago, who often wore blue Genoas and once bright green shirt. She also happily accepted purple dye whenever I could get her some.

"Hey, dweeb." I greeted him back. "Where's Geoff? Is he being all Romeo and Juliette with that girl again?"

"Romeo and Juliette?" Owen interrupted, looking confused. Cody wore the same face, but Izzy was amusing herself by creating fire and burning ants.

"Yeah, you know, the Shakespeare... play. Nevermind, that snob Noah is getting into my head again." I said, referring to a boy around my age who indulged himself with reading and other arts of that craft. Whenever I was forced to go along with my mother to social gatherings I would be forced to be around him.

"Um, he is with her though." Cody said after a few moments of confused silence. Turning around he said, "Or was."

I frowned, not seeing Geoff there, but Geoff turned the corner only seconds later.

"Hey, dudes!" Geoff tipped his hat, seeming to be in another world. The hat, which once used to be over sized, now fit his head fine.

"Alright everyone's here. Now, who wants to hear the latest news in my life? You all do, you're all involved." I picked at my nails before looking up at the small group. I heard a shriek and turned to Cody to see Sierra hugging him, practically choking him.

"S-Sierra!" Cody managed out, pulling at the girl's arms.

Behind the purple-haired girl stood a girl with slightly darker skin than the rest of them. She was very skinny and it was easiest out of all them to see she was poor and without anyone to help support her. The girl has only been alone for a year and had found them all half a year ago. She wore a torn dress, where the top was black and white striped. It tore at her stomach and continued on to the skirt which was pink. Sierra had helped her sew them into a pair of shorts so they were easier to wear. The girl had black hair down to her shoulders. I suppose I should stop referring to her as "The Girl" and just tell you her name is Katherine (But she prefers to go by Katie), who was known for being very sad and quiet most of the time, much like Cody was when we first met him.

Ignoring the three people, I continued on. "My darling sweet mother has decided I can't be around you guys." I stated.

"So what's the plan, boss?" Geoff asked, referring to my old nickname.

"Same trouble as always, and you know crashing a few parties should do." I smirked, knowing all of them (Except Katie, I wasn't sure about her) would be happy to crash a party.

Owen laughed. "Awesome! When is it?"

"Don't know yet. I'll update you guys as soon as I can, but for now-" I looked down at myself, wrinkling my nose at the crisp white shirt and tidy trousers. "I'm way too clean to be homeless."

The boys- and Izzy- Grinned before grabbing whatever was near them and throwing it at whoever was nearest. This had always been a favorite game of ours. It's similar to your modern day food fights, except with dirt. After a good ten minutes of laughing, having fun, and hitting Owen in the head, I tried sneaking out of there.

"Hey! Where are you going, Mr. Fancy-Pants?" Asked Geoff and all of them turned to me.

Brown flew at me and I bolted into the cobblestone street, knowing I was covered head to toe with dirt. Still running, my shirt and pants caught onto something and when I pulled at it, it ripped a good portion of my shirt sleeve and my pant leg off. Turning back to paying attention to where I was going, I crashed into someone.

Automatically, my hands flew and grabbed the person in front of me, holding them up to prevent us from falling. I opened my eyes to stare into someone's beautiful onyx orbs. It was girl with tan skin, a little lighter than Alejandro's, freckles dotted across her nose and onto her cheeks. Her brunette hair fell down just past her shoulders. Going to look at her clothes, I noticed our awkward position. My hand was at the small of her back, the other had flung out to prevent myself from losing balance and falling. I had held her a bit too close, to where our bodies were almost touching.

I didn't move though. My mouth was agape and I hadn't felt nervous like this since... well, since Heather had first spoken to me.

The girl narrowed her eyes though. "Ew. Let go of me, you low class..." She trailed off, pushing me away and brushing herself off.

Low class? I wasn't low class, I was the son of Lady Heath... Even in my own thoughts I trailed off before reprimanding myself for making myself sound like a rich snob. Plus, I realized my clothes were tattered and dirt was everywhere on me.

I finally saw the whole body of the girl. She didn't wear a big puffy dress like all the other women, which explained how easy it was for me to hold her up. Instead, she wore a simple dress with a gray top and dark green skirt that went down to her ankles, a strip of white at her waist separated the two.

A smirk automatically found its way to my face. "Sorr-ee Princess." I rolled my eyes. Looking at the ground I noticed a toppled over basket with fruit spilling out of it. I picked it up and noticed books at the bottom. "What is this? Books? Young women shouldn't be learning."

The girl's eyes widened, but she scoffed. "Th-they're not mine, obviously. Give it back!" She grabbed the wicker basket from my hands.

"Then why the need to cover them with fruit?" I challenged her.

She frowned at me, but decided not to fight, instead turning away, rearranging the fruit on to the top of the basket.

"See ya around, Princess!" I called to her.

* * *

**Was this chapter good? And if you didn't notice, that was Courtney at the end. I enjoyed this. :D Why am I still writing when I have other stories and I'm leaving in three days? Who knows! **

**I love you all! Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review the good stuff and the bad stuff!**


	3. Chapter 3: Finding Out More

Another smack hit my head as I watched her walk away and several groans and shouts were heard. I turned around, a grin still on my face.

"Duncan!" My group came speeding down the cobble road, laughing and breathless.

"Who was that?" Owen was the first to ask.

"Was it a giiiirl?" Cody narrowed his eyes at me.

"Huh?" I snapped myself out of it. "Wha- I don't know. I mean, yeah it was a girl, but some rich snobby girl."

"You're not going to turn into Geoff are you?" Cody asked, though his joking tone had left. Geoff frowned at Cody.

"What? No! I just met her. She didn't even give me another look because I was covered in dirt." I folded my arms.

_All day Geoff had been out of it. All of us were 15, or 14 in Cody's case. It had taken place just a year ago. _

_"Geoff..." I waved my hand in front of my cheery friend. I leaned towards his ear and screamed, "Geoff!"_

_My friend jumped, startled. "W-what?" _

_"Where's your mind been all day? I'm going to just go home if you're going to keep acting like this." I folded my arms._

_"Oh. Sorry, Boss." Geoff looked towards the ground for a moment before looking at the wall across from him. "I just met a pretty... Pretty cool!" He gave a short laugh before continuing. "Pretty cool person today. "_

_"Someone's got a girlfriend." Owen sang. _

_I turned straight towards him. "Girl? I thought the only guy who would have a girlfriend is Owen. Now you're going to leave me too?" I said sarcastically. _

_Geoff panicked. "I never said it was a girl!"_

_"I can see it on your face, dude." Cody said, eating some bread. "Is it Sierra? That would really help to get her off my back."_

_"N-no! It's..." He was quiet for a moment. "Well, it's not exactly a homeless girl or one of low-class." He mumbled. A small smile crept on his face and I knew he was a lost cause already._

_"You're in love with a snotty girl?" I practically shouted._

_"She's not snotty!" Geoff frowned at me. "She hates being rich and wants to help animals. Where do your think I got all that food?" He pointed at the slightly bigger pile we had than normal. _

_"OK. So she helped us out once. She's been raised rich her whole entire life. You think she'll stay with a guy who doesn't have any money, let alone her family will allow it." I pointed out. Owen and Cody looked nervously between us two, not use to us fighting, especially Geoff fighting. _

_"You don't know Bridgette, OK?"_

That's all I can remember of our fight. He probably left after that, but we made up soon after. Geoff and I are best friends, not to mention he can't stand being mad at a person.

* * *

I found myself home an hour later. The door untouched as expected. I moved the chair out of the way right as my mother opened the door. I turned towards her, seeing her mouth was agape.

I looked over at the window and saw I forgot to close it. I gulped, but looked at her with a nonchalant expression.

"Duncan!" She yelled. "You are a filthy mess! I can't believe you snuck out to be with those... filthy mongrels! I am going to..." She trailed off, hands clenched in tight fists. She took a deep breath and her face quickly softened. "First, you need to get cleaned up."

"Sure. I'll take a bath in a few minutes." I shrugged.

"No. Obviously, I can't trust you with anything. I'm sending one of the maids to help you."

"What? No! You can't- Isn't that invading my privacy or whatever?" My eyes widened.

"Too bad. Beth will be expecting you in a few minutes. And I'll make sure she scrubs that dye out as well." Heather left the room.

I frowned, but didn't freak out or anything. At least I wasn't stuck with Lindsay, who is the other maid and is just about as smart as a rock. Though her bust almost made up for it.

My mind wandered away from Lindsay and on to the girl I met earlier today. She had been hiding books. She obviously had to have known someone else than. Someone she could get the books from. I thought about it and the only place she could have gotten some books from was the book store... that we were only a couple shops from.

I groaned when I realized Noah's father owned the store as well.

I shook my head. Why did I want to find out who she was anyway? She did seem interesting and definently worth my time. Hey, it wouldn't hurt anyway.

"Duncan!"

* * *

Duncan ran his fingers through his now black hair. He trotted downstairs and yelled, "I'm going to the book store."

His mother wasn't home, but Alejandro was, so he figured it would be best to tell someone where he was going.

"Wait, wait, wait." Alejandro walked out in front of the door, blocking my escape. "How do I know you're not going to see those homeless children?"

"Uh, because I told you?" Duncan gritted his teeth. "Let me through."

"Take one of the maids with you. " Alejandro said. "Lindsay!"

I groaned, but complied anyway. At least it was the one with the memory of a goldfish.

The blonde hurried downstairs. "Yes, uh, what was your name again?"

Alejandro rolled his eyes. "Nevermind that. Just go with Duncan to the book store or wherever he's going."

"OK! Come on, Derek!" She skipped out the doorway.

I looked at Alejandro who smirked at me, arms crossed. I groaned and walked outside. -

"Excuse me sir?" I asked the man at the counter. I had left Lindsay in the children's picture books. Even if she was smarter, I wouldn't expect her to be able to read them. Most girls dont know how to read. A smart girl isn't attractive normally.

The man turned around and I saw it was Noah's dad. "Duncan? Why are you here? Noah told me that you found books repulsive."

'Actually, I found him repulsive.' I thought in my head. "I don't, but I'm not here for a book anyway. I was wondering if a young girl came here often or at least yesterday."

Noah's dad looks stressed. "W-well, yes... But she comes in to buy books for... her father! Yes, that's it." He smiled confidently.

So, he knew she was reading when she wasn't supposed to. "I see. Can I ask what her name is?"

He frowned. "Um, no. I'm going to have to ask you to leave if you're not buying anything, Duncan. I'm sorry, but I don't make the rules."

'Yes, you do.' I thought in my head. 'You own the store.' I backed up a few steps. "But, uh, whose name can't I know?"

"Courtney's. Now leave." He shooed me away and I happily complied.

Courtney...

* * *

**I enjoyed this chapter. This story is mostly going to be in Duncan's Point of View. Also, I made Beth and Lindsay Heather's maids because they were like her minions in the show... at least in the first season they were. Yay for another flashback! We got to see around the time Geoff met Bridgette. **

**Flashbacks won't be all through out the story, but through the first ones there will. **


	4. Chapter 4: The Ball

"Oh, Duncan," Heather called, opening my door.

"Hmm?" I answered half-heartedly, face down on my bed.

"You're going to a dance tonight hosted by some nice aristocrats. Be ready." She left the room then to avoid any complaints.

Instead of groaning or complaining, like one might think I would do, I smirked instead.

I picked the lock on my window in just a few minutes earlier that day, so I wasted no time in jumping out and completing my normal routine of jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

Luckily, everyone was there, including the girls. Owen was telling everyone all the things he could do everyday at the bakery.

"Guess who's going to a ball?" I asked, probably a bit too excitedly for my taste.

"Who?" Owen asked, totally clueless.

I rolls my eyes. "You guys are!"

"Can you please explain this?" Cody raised his hand slightly.

"My mom's forcing me to go to some fancy party-dance-thing and I thought it would be a great idea for you guys to crash the party."

"Awesome!" Geoff jumped up, fist in the air. Everyone else did a little cheer too.

"Ooo! Ooo!" Sierra jumped up and down. "Cody and I can go on a date!" She shrieked in excitement.

Everyone else held their ears in annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah." I calmed the crowd of six in front of me. "But the only way this is going to work is if we look like we're rich snobs. So I'll be in charge of the guy's clothes and..." I looked at the three girls, deciding who would be the best at finding some nice clothes for the girls. "Katie."

She looked up, surprised, making a small noise.

"You're in charge of finding the girls' dresses, OK?"

She slowly nodded, as though she wasn't sure.

* * *

"Finding you guys stuff is no problem. Just pick some fancy tux, an over-the-top top hat, and some decent shoes. Don't worry about the price, Rich Boy is giving you a treat." I told the guys outside the shop. "Also make sure you show it to me before setting your heart on it."

In just about ten minutes, we were all done except Cody.

"Come _on_." Owen groaned.

"Hold on!" Cody frowned. "I have to make sure I look good for the ladies."

I snorted. "The only 'lady' you have a chance with is Sierra, who I doubt is going to be happy that you want to talk to other girls."

"Like I care." Cody put on a fake tough guy attitude.

"Right." I rolled my eyes.

Once he finally decided, we went to the Women's Dress Shop to see how the girls were doing.

Sierra insisted on wearing a ridiculous dress with a gray top and orange skirt. Honestly, I knew she probably could have found a worse dress.

Izzy was not crazy for once, sort of, and chose a simple green dress. But she also grabbed a purple bonnet and pretended to be an old woman for the rest of the day.

Katie was quiet and I didn't even notice she was there, looking after Sierra and Izzy, holding a nice dress. Like the others, her dress was puffed out and ready for a fancy party of tea and crumpets. It had a white shirt and a pink bottom.

"Are you satisfied with what they found?" I asked her, away from everyone else. I noticed the small smile she had.

It vanished when she heard me speak amd she turned to me. Katie gave me a quick nod and handed me her dress.

I sighed and went to buy it with the others, telling the man to tell Lady "Heather Burromuerto" to pay it next time he saw her. Of course, I used our current last name since she wasn't yet married to him.

* * *

"Are you... ready?" Heather opened the door, surprised to see me dressed up.

"Yup!" I said happily, and probably suspiciously. My friends were in my connecting bathroom getting dressed and washing up. I was only able to bring them a few buckets of water, but I'm sure they were fine. I warned them ten minutes to quiet down because my mother would come up soon. They complied and only soft noises came from the room since then.

"The correct answer is 'Yes,' Duncan." She corrected me.

"Yes, your Royal Highness." I rolled my eyes.

Heather frowned, but said no more. "You can walk there. It is just down the street. You'll know it when you see it." She was about to close the door when she stopped and walked over to me.

I grew nervous because she was right next to the bathroom door.

**Heather's P.O.V.**

He had grown up so much since I found him. He still had his bright blue eyes that I had loved since I first found him. His black hair wasn't to his shoulders, but close cropped to his head.

As much as I dislike those street rats, they helped keep him alive until I found him. Though, he was probably the lease of them with his strong personality and his mischievousness.

What would I have done without him?

I would have had a boring life.

I can't wait for him to grow up and have a successful life like I know he will. He'll find a girl and- wait.

I waved my hand in front of him. He made no reaction to it.

I smirked. "Duncan."

"Ck- What?" He shook his head.

"Why so distracted?" I asked him. "Anyone on your mind? Like a _girl_."

Duncan glared at me. "I'm leaving."

I sighed and shook my head, a smile still on my face. What was I going to do with him?

Exiting the room, I swear I heard a laugh.

* * *

**Duncan's P.O.V.**

"Have anyone on your _mind,_ Duncan?" Geoff asked me.

"Shut up, Romeo." I glared at him. Cody and Owen were laughing behind us.

"I finally understand why you were so excited for us to come." Cody put his arm on my shoulder.

I whipped around and held the front of his shirt. "I will pound you."

Cody held his hands up in surrender.

"Is it this place?" Izzy shouted a lot louder than needed in front of us, pointing at a place with dressed up teenagers and young adults.

I nodded, not in the mood to speak to anyone.

"Awesome!" She ran inside, immediately jumping up to a top balcony and bursting through the glass doors, somehow not breaking them.

"Cody! Cody! Let's dance!" Sierra squealed and dragged Cody with her, who groaned.

Once inside, Owen darted to the buffet table and Geoff found his girlfriend in only a few minutes.

Katie stuck to the shadows, venturing out only to use the powder room or nibble something for a moment.

I, myself, scanned the room looking for a familiar someone. I found her dancing with some supermodel guy. She wore a purple dress that just went with my little nickname for her, "Princess."

When a song was about to start, I cut in between them, literally, as she blinked.

My plan did not work very well. I, once again, found myself frozen with her in my arms. But her feet kept moving and I let her lead me for a few moments.

After those few moments, my face processed her mind and she froze as well. "You?" She asked incredulously.

I snapped out of it and said, "Hey, Princess."

"How are you here? I thought you were homeless!" She didn't let go of me, despite her disgust.

"Don't judge a book by it's cover." I started us up again, so we weren't in the way of the other dancers. I found the saying ironic.

"But..." Courtney trailed off, at a loss of words.

"Well, Courtney, I know your name, but you don't know mine. I am Duncan." I introduced myself.

"How do you know my name?" She demanded to know.

"The book store owner isn't very good at keeping secrets." I glanced behind her to see Izzy on a chandelier and Owen trying coax her down, brownies stuffed in his mouth.

"What are you-" She tried to turn around to see what I was snickering at. For some reason, I panicked and brought her closer to me, our chests touching.

Courtney glared at me, but put up no fight. "Well, then, _Duncan_, who are you then?"

"I told you that." I smirked.

"I _mean,_ who is your father?" She tried fighting my grip a little bit, only ending up in tripping a little bit and landing into me.

"Don't have one." I answered her question, straightening her up. "But my mother is Lady Heather soon-to-be Burromuerto."

She was silent and I had to look down at her to see she was lost in her thoughts. "But, I knew her son. I was forced to dance with him when I was 13."

_"This girl is coming so you learn to dance. Trust me, you'll need it throughout life." My mom instructed me. "Please be civil."_

_"Alright." I nodded. At this point it had been at least two years since she adopted me and I was becoming more comfortable actually being myself around her. _

_My mom cleared our sitting room, the maids having put the chairs and couches to the walls. _

_In just a few minutes, their was a knock at the door and a girl around my age walked into the room. _

_Outside the room my mother said to her father, "Thank you sir, for giving me this chance. I promise..." They walked outside and I didn't get to see her dad's face, nor hear the rest of their conversation. _

_"Hi." The girl brought my attention back to her and found myself frozen. Which, when I thought about it, meant when Heather first approached me wasn't the only time I had been frozen, for whatever reason. _

_She frowned. "What's wrong with you? Can't say hello?"_

_I shook my head and lifted my hand in a weak way to acknowledge her. _

_She sighed and walked over to our bookshelf, which featured only a few books I could actually read. Her eyes brightened when she found a book and took it off the shelf. She stopped and looked up at me. "Don't tell anyone I can read." _

_I shrugged, still not able to form a sentence, or a word really._

_The girl sat on the arm of a chair and buried herself in the book. I realized it was one I had difficult with, not to mention found incredibly boring. _

_"Have you read this?" She asked me suddenly. _

_"N-not really." I muttered. "I mean, I'm trying. It's boring, isn't it?"_

_"No way! You have no taste in books." She jumped down from her perch on the chair. _

_I probably took more offense than needed to that statement. "You're a girl. You shouldn't be reading anyway." _

_"I bet you can't read." She stuck her tongue out at me. _

_"It's not like you can scavenge food for 11 years! You don't have time for stupid reading!" I yelled back at her. _

_"Reading is not stupid." She crossed her arms. _

_"Hey, guys!" Heather walked inside, completely oblivious to out argument. "Let's get started!" _

_The next four weeks were not enjoyable. _

"No wonder we dance so easily together." I smirked, bringing her a little closer.

"Well, at least you can speak. I see you still freeze though." Courtney smirked back, getting closer to me. There was no space in between us and our heads were very close.

"Duncan!" I looked up and pushed us out of the way, landing on top of her, the chandelier crashing right where we were standing.

Looking down at her, I saw she was, actually, all I could see. My mouth was pressed against hers and...

**Courtney's P.O.V.**

I felt sparks.

* * *

**Yay, extra long, sort of. It wasn't actually a very interesting chapter I realize, but I needs to make this chapter to continue the story. The next chapter will obviously still be at the party. I'm sorry go any terrible mistakes throughout this, like spelling and missing words and such. I've updated this story only though my phone, so mistakes are likely. If you want to point any out that bother you, go ahead and I'll fix it.**

**I have a challenge. Whoever can find when Sierra wore her dress gets a digital cookie. I'll give you a hint, she wore it for a "frame." Yes, frame was the key word. Now go find it. **

**Please, review the good stuff and bad stuff! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5: Meeting Up With Gwen

**Courtney's P.O.V.**

He froze above me, so I took the liberty of pushing him off me. I glanced over at the broken chandelier, a girl with red hair jumping from the pile of broken glass, cuts all over her body.

"That was fun!" She shouted, before running over to fat blonde guy.

I looked back at Duncan, who was staring at me. I felt my cheeks heat up at the thought of him staring at me, but put my hands on my hips. "What are you staring at?"

His expression changed and his obviously fake "Cool Guy" act started up again. "A thank you would be appreciated, Princess."

I rolled my eyes, but said, "Thanks," anyway. Since, I was done with him, I left and went to go find either Bridgette or Justin, the guy I was dancing with earlier. My father insisted I get to know him because it would look good for us, but he was a vain jerk, so I was kind of OK when Duncan intervened.

Bridgette was talking to her boyfriend again. They wouldn't last. I mean, there was no point in even trying, they were raised completely differently. I sighed and went to the buffet table, where a girl, Sadie, and some dark-skinned girl I've never seen before were giggling and chatting.

**Duncan's P.O.V.**

I got up from the floor and surveyed the damage. I would just have to pretend I didn't know Owen and Izzy for the rest of the day, otherwise my mother would give me hell.

Looking back at Courtney, I saw she was no longer there. I sighed and looked for someone who didn't break ceiling fixtures. I found Geoff, but he was talking to, I think, Bridgette. I haven't really seen her before until now. She didn't interest me, so I kept going. Cody was obviously trying to flirt with some blue-haired chick. Sierra was right beside him, completely oblivious to it though. Katie had made friends with a girl who wore the same dress as her, but with a black top instead of white. Noah was here for some reason, but he was sticking to the shadows, ignoring everyone.

Besides being able to kiss Courtney, it wasn't really that interesting of a party, and I went home soon.

"Hey, Duncan!" Heather greeted me. "Did you have a good time?"

"Actually, it was pretty boring." I replied, heading up the stairs. "But I met some people."

I found myself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. There was something I couldn't stop thinking about, and I couldn't figure out what it was. My fingers unconsciously touched my lips before I fell asleep.

**Courtney's P.O.V.**

Other than the part with Duncan, the party was really a total bust for me. I went only because my family needed the attention, apparently. Gwen had been busy talking to some annoying kid and a girl with purple hair, and Bridgette was sucking her boyfriend's face the whole entire time. There really wasn't much for me to do. But I had to stay there, bored, until practically everyone was gone.

I went to my gigantic home. My father was a very important person. It was obvious I was adopted when you look at him and me, but he's never told me that I was. Not to mention I never actually met my mother, if I'm not adopted. He doesn't really pay attention to me. He just likes fame and money. I mean, I'm not necessarily complaining. You get some pretty good stuff when you're dad is rich and important, but it also means you can't choose your friends, or who you date, or where you go on Saturday nights. For example: I have to be friends with Gwen, she's not all that bad, but sometimes we just can't get along. I'm forced to go on dates with Justin, who, as I mentioned before, is a vain jerk. And the part about Saturday nights? Well, I didn't really want to go to this ball-thing.

I passed my dad going up to my room when I got home. He didn't acknowledge me, just kept going, coffee in his hands.

I was just so tired from the day, after almost being crushed by a chandelier, and possibly finding the guy for me- considering the sparks- I fell asleep in my dress.

* * *

**Duncan's P.O.V.**

I woke up early to go see everyone. My mother slept in late on Sundays, she wasn't interested in going to church, so I was good at least for a couple of hours.

"Hey, guys." I woke them all up. They were all still in their suits, hats, shoes, and jackets strewn across the ground. "Wake up!"

The guys groaned and complained, but got up anyway. "Hey, Boss." Geoff greeted me, his hand absentmindedly searching the ground for his cowboy hat.

"Hey, what are you looking for?" I asked, looking at his hand skimming the ground.

Geoff looked down. "My hat. Where is it?" He panicked standing up and looking around.

"Didn't you give it to Bridgette?" Owen asked.

"I did? Why would I do that?" Geoff was still partly freaking out.

"Dunno." Owen grabbed a piece of bread in their pile and started munching on it.

"Now that we're done with that, who wants to come with me to meet Gwen and her friends?" Asked Cody. "I was hoping-"

"I will!" Sierra shouted, popping out from the corner. "She invited me too, Gwen was really nice."

Cody sighed. "Great."

"Oh hey, Bridgette knows Gwen. I'll come too, Bridge might be there." Geoff offered.

"Sorry, I've got work." Owen said.

"I might as well come with." I shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do."

Katie and Izzy popped up a few seconds after, and Katie was smiling. Like, actually happy. Both of them didn't really want to go, but Cody inquired why Katie was so happy.

"I met this really awesome person. We like all the same things, we even got- like- basically the same dress!" Words babbled from her mouth, and all of us were wondering where the heck Katie was and who this person was.

I left then, not really wanting to hear, to go home and tell my half-asleep mother I was meeting some people, before returning to see everyone was waiting for me.

"Alright let's go. Where did she want to meet you?" I asked, hating that Cody was leading the way.

"A little bistro place. She only told me where it was." He told me. "And we're here."

"Really, it's literally been a minute." I said, looking at the place.

"Yup, convenient, huh? Oh, there she is." Cody practically ran into the shop.

Walking in, I saw Cody sitting down at the booth across from the three girls. I sat down beside him and looked the three girls. Bridgette was in fact there, the blue-haired girl Cody was talking to last night- who must be Gwen- was there, and... Courtney. In the middle of them, quite conveniently right across from me.

"Why are you here?" Blurted from her mouth.

"Oh, I thought I'd just sit with you guys. You all looked friendly." I said sarcastically. "I came with Cody to meet Gwen. He's been blabbing about her non-stop." Of course, that wasn't true, but it was going to happen.

"Um, no he wasn't." Sierra interrupted, her head peering over the top of the booth, she was kneeling on the booth behind us, since there wasn't room for all four of us on the same booth. "Duncan, don't be trying to embarrass my Cody-kins."

A giggle erupted from each of the three girls, before all three quickly quieted themselves again.

"Geoff, I'm glad you know Cody. I was thinking of inviting you, but I didn't want you to be with a whole bunch of people you didn't know." Bridgette said.

"Oh, Cody and I have known each other a while. Duncan took us in and we've been living-" I took the liberty of elbowing Geoff in the ribs for Cody.

"Stupid, I doubt Cody told Gwen he lives on the streets." I whispered to him.

"So you're all orphans like Geoff?" Bridgette said.

Gwen was sipping tea when she stopped and her eyes widened, practically spitting it out. "You live on the streets?"

Courtney was also surprised by this statement, she started coughing. "I thought you said you weren't!" She accused me.

"Oh, he's not." Sierra decided to join in. "Duncan _was, _but he was adopted when he was little. And, you know. He just hangs out with us all the time."_  
_

"Thanks..." I muttered to Sierra.

"But the rest of you are?" Gwen asked.

"Uh, yeah..." Cody answered.

"OK. That's fine, I just didn't know. How'd you all get to go in the ball with those outfits and all?" Gwen asked.

"Let me rephrase what Sierra said. I was adopted by Lady Heather when I was little." I told her.

"Oh."

I glanced over at Geoff who was in a separate conversation with Bridgette. When there was a silence for a few moments I asked, "What's with the weird... look?" I was referring to Gwen's makeup and hair and the way she dressed.

"I'm goth."

We all stared at her, silently asking what the heck she was talking about.

Courtney sighed. "Not a lot of people are. You're just... different. You kind of hate society a lot of the time. Normally depressed. All of which she's _not, _but insists she is anyway."

"Don't act like I'm not here." Gwen interrupted her. "I can be whatever I want."

"Let's not fight." Cody tried intervening.

"Whatever." Courtney crossed her arms. We all only stayed for a little while longer before everyone decided they had to leave. Bridgette and Geoff went off to do their own thing.

I hung behind my group as we left and headed in the opposite direction as the girls. Except, Courtney decided to join me on my walk.

"Alright, you better tell me now. Are Lady Heather's freaking son or not?" Courtney asked.

"Why don't you see for yourself? Want to meet my parents?" I asked.

"Not really, I just-" I stopped her from talking by grabbing her arm and running.

"Hey! I can't run- stop!" I ignored her cries and kept going.

"Welcome to Casa de Duncan, Princess." I said, slowing down in front of my door.

Courtney was panting. "Don't... do... that again."

"You obviously spend too much time reading, which you're not supposed to do, and not enough time outside." I said, opening my door.

"Neither of which I'm supposed to do, actually. Girls aren't supposed to play outside and get dirty either." She pointed out.

I heard a gasp and I whipped my head around to see my mother, staring at me opening the door for Courtney.

"Why would you bring her here?"


	6. Chapter 6: WHY SO MANY QUESTIONS?

**Duncan's P.O.V.**

"Why would you bring _her _here?" My mother shouted, which caused Alejandro to come running in.

"Mi amor, is everything alright?" He asked her, holding her hand.

"No! Duncan decided it would be a good idea to let... you know... his daughter here!" She tried keeping the name a secret. Alejandro noticed her and his eyes widened before he ducked into the kitchen.

"Did I miss something?" Courtney asked, looking back and forth between us two. "And who was that guy? He seemed familiar."

"Yeah, I would like to know what is going as well." I said, shutting the door.

Heather sighed. "Never mind that. Lindsay, Beth!"

The two maids hurried in. "Yeth, Ma'am?" Beth asked. She had a lisp which annoyed everyone.

"Get us some refreshments." She ordered them. They nodded and left. Heather turned back to us. "Come into the living room. Please, make yourself at home."

Courtney frowned, but went along with it.

I stood in the doorway to the room. Thinking about it, I noticed that Alejandro was normally locked away in his study, but did that mean he was actually in his study? Was he somewhere else all the time?

"So why did Duncan bring you here? Last time you were together, that I remember, you hated each other." She remembered.

Courtney looked at me, asking for help silently. I shrugged. I had no idea what was happening.

"Um, well... I was confused as to whether he was actually you son or not, since one of his friends mentioned something about them being without homes." She explained. I groaned inwardly, she had to mention that we were with _my _friends.

Heather froze. "You... let her near your friends?"

"That's not at all what happened." I stopped, shaking my head. There was no point in me even trying to explain.

"Oh well, they didn't touch you did they?" Heather asked.

"No, it was perfectly fine. I was just going with my friends to meet someone else. He came along with them." Courtney said, taking a tea cup from Lindsay.

Heather smiled, which I easily saw through. She was just dying to punish me. But for some reason she wanted to look good to Courtney?

"Hold on." I put my hands up. "What is the big deal with her? Why are you acting all fake?"

"Fake? What are you talking about?" My mother asked, giving me a glare when Courtney looked away.

"Right." I said slowly. "Well, maybe Princess should actually go."

"Yeah!" She jumped up. "I only came to find out. I should be home anyway. No need to worry my father."

"Oh, alright. Just tell your dad, I said Hi." She smiled again.

I led Courtney to the door and walked out with her. "Can I ask who your dad is?"

She turned her head. "You really don't know?"

"No! I don't!" I told her.

She laughed a little. "Then I'll keep it a secret."

"Come on! You can't keep that a secret." I said as we stopped in font of the book store.

"I will though. You can leave now, I need to... pick up a book." She smiled at me.

"I have nothing to do, you might as well show me some of your favorites and try to convince me to read." I offered.

"Oh... Um, sure." Courtney looked worried, but decided to let me come with anyway.

Inside, the only person was the clerk at the counter, who just so happened to be Noah.

"Hey, Courtney." He greeted her.

"Hey, Noah. Um, do you know if I can borrow a book- for my dad!" She explained.

"Sure, one sec- Duncan?" He noticed me behind her. "Have you come here to ruin all our merchandise?"

I rolled my eyes. "No. Just help the lady."

"Sure. What does he want this time?" Noah slipped from behind the counter.

The two of them discussed which book her father might, which I found boring. Instead, I looked at the shelves, looking at the prices of all the different pieces. Some I recognized, some I didn't, some I couldn't even read the title.

"Find anything?" Princess asked me, surprising me.

"Gah!" I dropped the book I was holding. It was in a different language, probably Latin.

She laughed, "Come on. Let's go."

"You didn't show my any good ones." I found myself saying. I didn't actually want to read at all.

"I was watching, you picked up some good ones... But then again I think all books are good." She said as we started walking outside again.

"You know... Now that I think about it... We're both kind of rebels." I told her.

"Well... I guess, but I act... unladylike, and people don't know that, which defeats the purpose of rebelling." She explained. "You, on the other hand, I've never actually seen do anything rebellious besides hang out with your old friends, which your mom obviously doesn't like."

"My hair use to be green." I said, as though that one sentence would explain it.

"Oh." We walked in silence for a little bit before she stopped. "We should stop here. I don't want you finding out where I live and who my father is."

I sighed. "Fine, but we will see each other again, right?"

She nodded. "I... had fun today." She smiled before leaning in and kissing me on the cheek. "See you." And she left me there.

...

"Your face is red." A familiar voice observed a minute later.

I snapped out of my position to see Cody there. "Shut up."

"Hey, do you think it'll be easier to ask out Gwen since you're getting all friendly with Courtney and Geoff's dating Bridgette?" He asked me as we both started to walk.

"I don't think she's interested in you." I told him.

"You're right, Sierra _will _get in the way." He replied to something completely different to what I said.

I rolled my eyes.

* * *

I heard my mom's voice from the kitchen as I walked into the hallway. What was so familiar to this?

_I was so tired... I had woken up from a nightmare. I went downstairs to get a glass of water, not wanting to bother the maids or wake up Heather. It was somewhere in the middle of the time where he was forced to dance with Courtney._

_Heather was already awake, she was talking to herself in the kitchen, Alejandro had not yet taken refuge in their house, the Spaniards would attack in only a month or two. But that was the future that I had not known yet. _

_I stayed by the doorway and listened. _

_"Why can't they get along? I might as well abandon him again if this doesn't work... No, that won't look good to everyone else. Plus, in the rare chance they end up do getting along, I need him." There was sigh and I poked my head through the doorway to see her pacing, fingers in her hair. "The two of them are the only chance I have to..."_

I can't remember anything after that. Why must my memories be so convenient for the plot? I mean... Inconvenient for me? Not breaking the fourth wall at all...

My so-called mother was only using to gain an advantage, obviously to be liked by Courtney's father, but _why_ was he so important? But then again, I was half asleep, had I really seen that or did I just dream it? I couldn't remember anything after that.

Heather came out of the kitchen, her conversation with herself finished. "Oh! Hello, Duncan!" She looked surprised.

"Hey, who were you talking to?" I looked into the kitchen seeing no one there.

"Myself." She didn't look like she was lying, but she was nervous. "Did you hear what I was saying?"

I shook my head.

"Alright, um, Beth will be done with dinner in an hour. I'll go tell her to start it." She changed the subject and left. What was my mom hiding from me?

* * *

**Oooo! Actual plot to the story! Turns out my mind decided to put a whole bunch of secrets in this! Hee hee. :D**

**Here are some questions you guys can ponder about: Who's Courtney's Dad? Why did Alejandro leave when he saw Courtney? What is Heather hiding? Why does Duncan break the fourth wall? WILL CODY EVER REALIZE GWEN IS NOT INTERESTED? **

**Thanks for reading! Please, review the good stuff, the bad stuff, and answer some of the questions if you want. Or don't and say you knew it all along when I explain everything. **

**P.S. Also, we'll probably find out who Courtney's dad is in, like, the next chapter. I almost said it ten times in this one, before changing the subject. XD**


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